You're Not Yourself (When You're Hungry)
by Baxley McTedders
Summary: Holly's hungry. Gail uses that info to her advantage.


**Prompt: The Pecks are the reigning monarchs of a country. Gail happens to be in court one day when a woman (Holly) stands before them to beg for her father's life.**

**Yes, this was based off that prompt.**

**I'm not exactly good at this game.**

* * *

Holly scanned the countertops of Gail's apartment quickly. She had already looked in all the cabinets. She had checked the fridge. She'd looked in Gail's secret stash drawer, but wasn't convinced she'd actually eat anything out of there even if she _was_ starving. She was about to give up completely when she noticed the scalloped edges of a wrapper hidden just behind the talking, lion-shaped cookie jar that reminded people in Gail's voice to 'keep the fuck away from these cookies!' Holly knew that from previous attempts at swiping one.

As soon as she realized it was Snickers shaped nourishment, her heart started to beat faster. This is what she'd been looking for forever...or the last ten minutes, at least. She looked over her shoulder at the closed bathroom door. Gail was in there. Gail had been in there for at least fifteen minutes, which meant absolutely nothing. Gail was unpredictable. She could have speed-showered like she does when she's getting ready for work. She could be in there for the next three hours with Prince on her Walkman and bubbles up to her neck.

Holly weighed her options. It was too risky to leave to chance.

She quickly walked to the bathroom door, rapping in a quick rhythm. "Honey?" she said sugar sweetly. "How long will you be?"

The door opened under knuckles. "Hey," Gail said with a smile on her face. She leaned in and gave Holly a kiss on her cheek. "You need in there? Go ahead."

"Uh..." Holly couldn't leave that nougaty goodness behind. "No, no. Just missed you."

Gail took Holly's face in her hands, kissing her again. "You're cute," she said before passing by toward her bedroom, but reaching back to give Holly a hard smack on the ass.

"I am that," Holly agreed, rubbing her butt. "Hey, do you have any plans this morning?"

"Umm..." came the muffled sound of Gail's voice a room away. "No."

"Nothing?"

"You and me," Gail said as she poked her head out the door. "That's the plan."

"Yeah, yeah," Holly nodded. "I know, you and me. Me and you. I didn't know if you had planned anything, though. For us, you know. Like...breakfast."

"Traci mentioned maybe having brunch or something," Gail said, having reappeared with a sweater pulled over her torso. "She figured we'd be busy all morning."

Holly smiled shyly at the insinuation, reaching out to play with the hem of Gail's attire. "Yeah..."

"But, I told her that I didn't know," Gail shrugged. "I mean, you're only in town for a few days."

Holly's eyes traveled up to meet hers. She knew she looked guilty. "I'm sorry-"

"Nope," Gail dismissed it. "We're not going to go there. Not this weekend. I only have a handful of hours with you and I'm going to enjoy every second."

Holly pulled her closer. "That sounds awfully positive, Gail Peck."

"Hey, I'm bitchy and grumpy and a real giant asshole every day that you're not here," Gail told her, "so don't start thinking I've changed and turned over any fucking leaves, okay?"

"Would never."

"Damn right."

Holly wrapped her arms around the blonde's hips and rested her forehead Gail's chest. "It's good to be here. It's good to actually touch you...you know?"

"Yeah." Gail dropped a kiss on the top of her girlfriend's head. "I know...and I don't really want to share you. So, I kinda don't want to do brunch."

Holly's head shot up. "No brunch?"

"Nah."

"But..." Holly swallowed. "We could do brunch quickly."

"It's Traci, though," Gail said. "It'll be forever. She'll ask a million questions and be all attentive and caring. We don't have time for that shit."

"But..." Holly was still thinking about her stomach. She'd spent the most of the night traveling and the rest of it having 'Welcome Home Sex.' It was great, yeah. But, goddammit, she was fucking hungry. "Let's just have brunch without Traci then."

Gail looked stunned for a second. "Rude."

"No, not rude," Holly shook it off. "It'll be just us. Private brunch."

"Yeah," Gail said with a cheshire grin. "I like it..." Gail dotted Holly's face with kisses down her jawline. Her hands slipped under Holly's tee and she slowly pulled it up, landing on Holly's boobs. "Great idea, baby," she said breathily.

Holly was hungry. She was really fucking hungry and she was making an actual suggestion instead of a sexual innuendo. But, what the hell is the other option when you have a smoking hot girlfriend who lives thousands miles away and is _finally_ right here in front of you and she's pushing you back on the couch and trying to shove her hands in your pants and she's just so fucking hot and you love her so, so, so much?

Have all the sex and enjoy it.

* * *

An hour later, Holly escaped the bedroom with every intention of making a beeline for that delicious Snickers.

She was almost there when Gail's voice stopped her, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing!" Holly called.

"Come back!"

"Gimme five minutes."

Holly heard the rustling of sheets, the padding of footsteps, the creak of the door. "Five minutes for what?" Gail asked, walking through the apartment.

"Rehydrate," Holly said. She motioned up and down her body, "Get the juices flowing."

"Oh, they've been flowing," Gail said with a wink as she walked by. She let her her fingers trail just between the space where Holly's panties met her shirt on her way.

"Yeah..." Holly said, looking for the candy bar out of the corner of her eye.

Gail didn't notice. She popped in the fridge, grabbed a half-empty bottle of water and took a drink. She handed it over to Holly, "Drink up."

"K."

Holly watched her nervously as she approached the counter. It looked like Gail was trying to find something. As she neared the lion-shaped cookie jar, Holly nearly whimpered. Just as she feared, Gail reached behind and pulled out the snack.

Holly cleared her throat.

Gail ripped the wrapper and took a bite, no doubt enjoying all that caramel.

"Gail..."

"Yeah?" Gail mumbled, mouth full.

"Can I?"

Gail looked at the candy, then at Holly. She saw something there. There was something in Holly's eyes. It was...longing. It was...desperation. It was hunger.

"You want?"

"God, yes," Holly said, taking the steps toward her quickly.

Gail held the Snickers closer. She suddenly felt a very real sense of power. "What will you do for it?"

"Anything."

"Anything?"

Holly looked her dead in the eye. "Anything."

"Move back and I'll let you have it," Gail said, letting the chocolate bar get dangerously close to her lips.

Holly smirked and reached up for it, "Okay, already planning on it."

Gail wasn't giving in that easily. "I meant sooner than next year."

"You didn't specifically state that."

"It was implied."

"Nope," Holly shook her head. "You added it after the fact."

"The implication was very real."

"Who says?"

"I do!" Gail stated. "It's my house. My rules. I'm the queen of this crappy castle."

"I'm the guest!"

"Fine," Gail brought the Snickers to her mouth. "Move back next year, see if I care."

"You do," Holly said as she watched carefully. She knew in her heart that Gail wouldn't eat the Snickers, but Gail was...Gail.

"Beg."

"What?" Holly took a step back.

"Beg me for the candy bar," Gail said, not joking in the slightest. "I want to hear your case for why you deserve this Snickers more than I do."

"I flew a long way to see you," Holly said, starting off very well.

"That's true," Gail said. "But I bought it."

"Okay..." Holly needed a different tactic. She approached Gail slowly, knowing that she had the reflexes of a jungle cat. "How long had it been since you'd had sex before I got here?"

"Same exact time that you hadn't," Gail shot back, already sticking her free hand out to stop any sudden attack. "Don't try sex for candy, Hol. It's so 1997."

"'97?"

"I don't know," Gail shrugged. "Seems like it might have been the height of the Sex for Candy craze."

"I smell sex and candy," Holly said, recalling the song that immediately flooded her brain.

"I haven't showered yet...well, not since the last time," Gail said, folding the wrapper down a bit more. "And this definitely smells pretty good."

"Please," Holly said, jutting her bottom lip out. "I'll love you forever."

Gail laughed. It was loud and fairly obnoxious. "Holly, c'mon."

"What?"

"Of course, you'll love me forever," Gail replied.

"Not if I die from hunger, Gail."

"You're not gonna die, Doctor Stewart," Gail rolled her eyes. "Besides, you have to love me forever. We're going to get married and have babies and those babies will grow up to be robocops who cure all the deadly diseases."

Holly beamed at Gail's little prediction of the future. "You want to marry me?"

"Yeah," Gail said with no sort of flair at all. "Sure I do."

Holly pushed on her shoulder lightly, "Don't be excited about the possibility or anything."

Gail caught her hand and said sincerely. "I do."

"Are you asking?" Holly joked. "'Cause...who knows..."

"I could ask." Gail's lip quirked up just a little. "If you say yes, I'll give you this Snickers."

Holly put her hand out.

"Really?" Gail rolled her eyes.

"Give it to me," Holly said seriously. "And I'll consider it."

Gail didn't. Instead she held it out for Holly to take a bite of and pulled it back. "So?"

Holly took her time chewing. She savored the milk chocolate and nougat. She watched Gail's slightly nervous expression grow into a knowing smile.

"Alright, Hol..." Gail finally said. "You can give me an answer anytime now."

"I want to marry you more than I want the rest of that candy bar right now," Holly said, leaning into her. "And that's a whole hell of a lot."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Holly said, capturing her mouth with a kiss. "Yes, Gail."

Gail brushed a finger down her cheek. "Hold on."

She handed the candy bar off to Holly, which she took happily. "Finally!"

Gail chuckled as she reached into the lion-shaped cookie jar. To Holly's surprise it had been re-recorded to say, "I love you, Holly Stewart!"

The burst of laughter was short-lived when Gail pulled out a velvety box.

"Trade?" Gail asked, referring to the prize Holly had just gotten.

Holly was stunned into silence.

Gail took the chocolate bar out of her hand and placed it on the counter before opening the box.

"Will you marry me?"

* * *

It was hours later before Holly ever finished her Snickers.


End file.
